For a canoe, you are better off with crossbars and canoe mounts on the crossbars. I also prefer the raised rails for canoe carrying, but I haven't carried my canoe on the CX5. I used straps from rail to rail with the canoe mounts locking the canoe in to keep it from shifting from side to side. I also used tiedowns front and rear to keep it from sliding fore and aft. I've made 1500 mile trips carrying that way with no problem on 4Runners, Explorers, Tahoes and Grand Cherokee. Even made a couple of shorter trips on top of an Outback that way.